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Forum:Revising the page layout for browser games
Our current page layouts for browser games doesn't cover all the sections currently covered on browser game articles. Below is my suggested revision of it, where I list the order of the section and what is covered in each. I may list section descriptions that are more concise than what is currently in the MoS. *Opening (this isn't a section): ''' is a game released on . . . . *Controls: Same as current MoS. *Gameplay: Describe what the main character can do (like walking, running), the game's main mechanic (if this isn't already covered in the character sentence), the goal in each level, and any other noteworthy information relating to gameplay. *Levels: Start of this section mentioning how many levels the game has and any other information relating to them. **Level sub-sections: Start the section off with "Level ". If they have names, do "Level : ". Each level section should explain how to complete the level. For games where a repeatable completion method doesn't exist, then strategies for how to complete the level should be listed. Put video walkthroughs in the proper template at the bottom of the section. *Enemies, Hazards, Interactive objects, Pick-ups, obstacles (sections in this order): Same as in MoS. ("Each of these components can be listed under its own individual heading, using bullet points to list and briefly describe each after that.") *Glitches - Covers glitches in the game. *Cameos - Cameos the game has. *Updates: List in level three headings updates the game received, either bug fixes or content updates. Name updates based on what Nitrome called them or as "Update ". Describe in each section when they were released and what they did. *Announcements: Official previews or announcements relating to the game. List them as '''Month(st/nd/rd, etc.)/Day/Year - . List videos and images in a gallery at the bottom of the section. *Development: Information about the game's development. Should also mention when the game was released. *Beta elements - Covers content seen in pre-release images that was changed or removed from the game. **Unused content - Content present in the game's files but not used in the game. *Reception - Covers the game's overall reception based on professional reviewers and what Nitrome or their staff mentioned in regards to fan reception. **Features: Places the game was featured, like magazines, websites. **Awards: Awards the game got from award ceremonies and other websites. *Trivia - Trivia related to the game. Questions: *Updates: Should updates with no name be called " update" instead of "Update " to prevent confusion with mobile game updates that use "Update " for content updates? Even though most people will likely catch on quickly to the difference in the naming convention between Flash and mobile games, it could seem a little strange. *Levels: **Should it become mandatory to mention a brief description of the level? Currently, the levels section is only helpful to those who need help with a level, but writing a brief description of each level allows this section to become open to regular readers. **Should walkthroughs be written with the player/character mentioned or excluded? The latter allows for shorter walkthroughs, while the former is how all other articles are written and it may seem strange to have two different styles. I'm fine with the latter. Discuss. -- 00:26, January 29, 2017 (UTC) :The MoS and policies overall are outdated. 02:16, January 29, 2017 (UTC) ::The ordering you suggested seems pretty good, though I would put Glitches and Cameos right above Trivia because they have a lower priority than the categories listed below them. I also think some of the later categories (like from glitches onward in your ordering) should be selectively added or left out depending on how much material there is to talk about for the particular game. As for level descriptions, I would not make it mandatory to briefly describe the level; Descriptions just need to be added only in some cases where it's unclear exactly what is going on in the video. For the style of walkthroughs, I would also be fine with excluding mentioning the player. The tone of those sections are different from describing the game and it would make them easier to read. :: 01:22, February 6, 2017 (UTC) ::I agree with this ordering, as it is similar to the current page layout but with more relevant information on the game. Updates with no names should be numbered, especially since it's rare for minor updates to have names. Writing brief descriptions for levels would be helpful for people who are just browsing the page, so it would be good to add them. Lastly, leaving the character/player out of written walkthroughs would make them less confusing and more straightforward, as you could just write out directions instead of writing "the player" multiple times. :: 02:50, February 6, 2017 (UTC) :Part of this proposal is really just giving the Manual of Style a needed update. I have wanted to readjust some aspects of the browser game pages, so here are some of my suggested changes: :*'Controls section' - Change to put into a bullet list rather than on separate lines. :*'Levels section' - Sometimes I merge this with the "Gameplay" section - that being, I combine what the game is about proceeding mentioning how many levels there are. I'm all for a Gameplay section for games with a lot of information pertaining to their gameplay and levels independently, though I'm concerned that the Gameplay section for some games might not be big enough for ones that are more straightforward in their approach. :**Furthermore, level sections with named levels begin with the number alone rather than "Number". Just to note that yeah we might have to change this; I think I might have kept it like that in case the level names are too long, but I don't think it'll be that big of a deal. :*'Enemies, Hazards, etc.' - Sure, I guess, however, I am thinking we may need to make lists of these separate components in some cases. I would argue that in some game pages, having the bulleted list alone on the game page could actually suffice. :*'Glitches' - Again, I suggest putting each individual glitch as a bullet point and use level 3 headings only for main categories where applicable (eg. lots of glitches pertaining to the main character vs. the external menus, etc.) :*'Cameos' - Same point as Glitches. Also, are we going to make this a "Cameos the game has" vs. "Cameo appearances of this game in other games"? :*'Updates' - I feel like we could put this in a wiki table, with columns for the version number (if applicable), date of release and changes made. We can set ids to rows so that it's easier to jump to a specific update given a section link. :*'Announcements' - Announcements vs. Previews, which I think some games had that under. We can arguably split this into subsections for games with a lot of previews (but I'm thinking more about Leap Day in this context, which I don't think is relevant to what you're talking about). Bulleted lists are fine. :*'Development' - Sure, if there is a lot to say about the game's development that requires a section all to itself. :*'Beat elements' - Fine. It could use bulleted lists for short points, paragraphs for longer ones. :*'Unused content' - I actually have a huge issue with this section, as it tends to lend itself to all miscellaneous content found in the game's files, including random tidbits of fonts and symbols, etc. I actually find this section to be quite gratuitous, really. Text, some characters from other games showing up in a different game, I dunno, make the section often feel bloated and irrelevant. I could be fine with this if the "miscellaneous symbols and characters from outside games sort of thing (like Norman Noggin in Dirk Valentine's files)" were just noted in text and not images. (Plus, we're not really sure if Nitrome intended to use Norman Noggin in Dirk Valentine.) :I know this is a bit strange, but it would, in my opinion, make more sense to move unused character images to their specific character pages where relevant, rather than keeping them to the game page. This goes for the beta content as well. For instance, the Dirk Valentine beta content seems more relevant to the Steam Powered batter-berger itself rather than the game. Why not move the content to that page instead, thus giving it more length? :The rest of the proposed sections seem fine, but only where relevant, of course. I think what most of this comes down to is just that some of these sections might be more fitting to their specific articles instead of the game page itself. Especially for games with lengthy articles, it would be better to have beta content relating to the specific game with detailed images, etc. on that specific component's page rather than having all content on the game page, which makes it a nightmare to slew through sometimes. :I'm going to answer your questions about the Level sections and stuff in a different message. :P 05:21, March 22, 2017 (UTC) :Oh, actually, I did want to touch on External links, which some of the older game pages have. Shall we keep or get rid of 'em? I'm thinking we could probably merge over some things, such as gameplay links, which would be included in the infobox, plus reviews, which are more grouped with "reception" and such. 05:24, March 22, 2017 (UTC) Okay, question time for realsies. Like I said, a table for updates could help. But it really depends on how much we know about when the update occurred, and what version number it is under. If the version number on their games is visible, then I'd say we list it by that. If we want to go more consistent, though, maybe we could sort them by the date they were updated. As for Levels...you probably know how I feel about those. I'm generally for writing a brief description for a Levels section, as it does allow a reader to quickly skim through the text of the description to see if it matches the level they're looking for instead of clicking through a bunch of videos in trial and error. It can give a reader a brief but good idea of what to expect, and then they can click the video to watch the level in full detail. That being said, I've written brief level descriptions before on this wiki and you've almost always marked them as being "incomplete". My problem with walkthroughs is that they tend to be quite biased, especially if the game is open ended. I remember back when you told me that my writing for the Level section of Fat Cat needed to include what enemies to kill. The problem with this is that aside from the bosses, there usually is not one way to kill enemies. You don't even have to kill certain enemies, but you can for extra points. The same goes for games with more open-ended levels like the Final Ninja series. Naturally, there are some elements that a level will require a player to use in order to beat it, but the path is not necessarily so one-track. Not to mention games where the outcome may be completely different from what is shown in a video, particularly games like Mutiny or BC Bow Contest. While there are similarities, I am not certain if the AI reacts the same way or in a certain set of ways. I think this really depends on how unique the behaviour is to one another, but my point here is that descriptions of what the level is about would benefit game pages like these. I suppose in this sense, videos are somewhat biased in that they only show one path or one possibility to beating a level, but at least the player can get a better look at what is actually present in the level and make their own decisions as to how to do the run. To put those possibilities in text seems long... Granted, I can see walkthroughs working for puzzlers or turn-base games, where the player has to follow specific steps to beat the level, and can usually be structured so that the player can follow the walkthrough to a T and beat it independently. And yeah these would work with bullet points or quick points rather than paragraphs. So to answer the second part of the question to the Levels section, if walkthroughs are kept for puzzlers and turn-base games only, then we can make these point-by-point, proceeding a brief description. The description of the Levels section can include "the player" and the character, etc, where needed. I don't think these sections will or should be particularly long, just concise and brief. As for the platformers, etc., where there are extra trinkets for points and stuff, yeah those could just have a brief description and no formal walkthrough (in text). That's what I can come up with off the top of my head. We will probably have to make some exceptions for certain games. The problem now will be to revise 100+ game pages so that they'll adjust better to the new browser game page layout rules. 05:47, March 22, 2017 (UTC)